France braces for major transportation strike amid unpopular pension reform
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:00 PM PT — Wednesday, December 4, 2019
France is bracing for a major strike of transportation workers, which
could become the biggest in decades. On Wednesday, authorities said
they will deploy thousands of police officers to provide security during
the protests, which are slated for Thursday.Thousands of workers in French airlines, railway companies and bus operations are planning walkouts and demonstrations against a proposed pension reform.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to replace the current retirement system with a “universal points-based system.” Unions said the reform could reduce the disposable incomes of French households.
“I’ll strike for three weeks if I have to, and I don’t have cash stashed in the bank – all I have is my salary as a railway worker,” stated CGT Union Rep. Patrick Belhadj. “I’m fighting for my children and grandchildren, because what’s cooking for them is not the recipe for happy days.”
French authorities are expecting hundreds of flights to be delayed or cancelled. The Paris subway, local railways and bus routes could stop indefinitely.
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